


Everything's Just Great

by seademons



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Child Abuse, High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-20 07:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9480491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seademons/pseuds/seademons
Summary: One day, Clyde arrived late for class, and he wasn't himself.





	1. Chapter 1

One day, Clyde arrived late for class. Fortunately, the teacher didn’t notice. He had his back turned to the class and his face practically jammed into the whiteboard when Clyde slipped past the double doors and silently death marched to the only seat available, at the far back corner of the room, behind Craig. All eyes were on him and his were on the floor. He didn’t look at all worried that the teacher might turn around at any moment and catch him. The guy might as well have, and he would have gone to the principal’s office at the same slow, mournful pace that took him his sweet time to that desk. The class stared until he sat down and briefly looked at them. They looked away then. The football team, seated at their usual quarter of the room opposite to where Clyde was now, gave him an impressed thumbs up. He waved back. The teacher cleared his throat for attention although the class was already deathly silent. All eyes ahead and the lecture began.

Still alarmingly early into the subject, Clyde had already folded both arms over the desk and rested his forehead on them. He had never been an honors student but he had never slept in class, either. Craig was leaning on the wall just enough to have him in his peripheral vision. It took him a moment to notice Clyde wasn’t sleeping; his shoulders were too tense. He was just resting, shielded from the teacher’s eyes because Craig wasn’t slumped over like usual. He stayed there, perfectly still for a moment, until his shoulders shook and he sobbed. Softly and quietly and to himself. If Craig wasn’t directly in front of him, the feeble sound and the ones that followed would have been overlaid by the shrill assertion of the teacher’s voice. He would never have known because he wasn’t supposed to. Clyde wasn’t sharing it; he was completely folded onto himself. He had been for the last few years. But this time, Craig knew. He caught a glimpse of Clyde by chance. It made him immobile but still his mind raced. To touch was the best way to console him, he knew. A full open-chested hug or a palm on the back or a clean shoulder. He knew. A hand on his head and a couple of soft, reassuring words. Presence. He _knew_ but they were too distant. He only knew Clyde’s voice from the hallways and his wrong answers in class. He knew Clyde’s face from a six-foot distance, from Monday to Friday. Their contact was second-handed. They had both consented to it.

Craig, with some reluctance. He reached out to Clyde for way longer than he probably should have before caving in. Completely against his will. Clyde, though, consented straightforwardly. He might not have initiated it but his support was absolute. What really brought them apart remained unknown to Craig. Kenny had often blamed Clyde for walking away on his own but his theories had never seemed believable to Craig. Or maybe he just didn’t want to know. He already knew enough of what he didn’t want to.

Clyde became still again within a few minutes. Craig watched him more directly now, offering both him and the teacher his profile. Clyde sniffled before lifting his torso from the desk, one palm rubbing his eyes. Always smearing the tears about and never wiping them away. Their eyes locked. Craig gave him three quarters of his face while Clyde looked at him with the whole of his. They were frowning at each other, partially for the same reason. Craig watched him. Clyde waited. Craig’s heart skipped a beat. Clyde dared him. Craig second-guessed himself. He had taken too long. Clyde dropped his gaze and slipped both arms under the desk. The teacher called Craig’s name out loud, getting his attention. The class swiveled around to stare. The teacher asked him something and he answered correctly. He had been listening. The teacher scowled, then called him to the front of the class. It took him two words to get sent to the principal’s office.

At lunch, Kenny blurted out how much he wanted Mentos. He swore it was absolutely worth it getting back in line for. Both Craig and Token disagreed but Tweek pushed them into it regardless. His alliance to Kenny earned him first-hand Mentos privilege. If Craig knew that they’d get queued right behind Clyde Donovan, he, too, would have agreed readily to it. He became surprisingly light-headed at this turn of events, although nobody noticed their alignment until Clyde was done cashing out and bumped into them on the way back. He dropped a couple of pennies at that, which Token quickly recovered for him as everyone else stared. He took the pennies back and mumbled a small thanks before leaving.

Kenny and Craig shared a glance. The woman behind the counter rudely conquered their attention.

* * *

 

One day, Clyde didn’t have lunch with his jock friends. He was wandering around the patio, fully concentrated on his phone instead. The sky was strangely dark and the light from the screen lit up his face in a dim blue glow as he absently walked to a bench. A bench which was in full view from the guys’ hang-out spot behind the school building. The bench which caught Craig’s absolute attention the moment Clyde sat on it. His face was grave. He looked pensive, maybe worried. In doubt. His brows were too dubiously knit to know for sure. Craig’s staring prompted the conversation flowing in the group to fade out, drawing unwanted attention to himself. Everyone followed his gaze. A minute in silent observation passed before Tweek pointed out Clyde’s unusual solitude. Craig agreed in a heartbeat, stuffing both hands into his jacket’s pockets. Kenny shrugged, losing interest. Token noted how quickly Clyde seemed to have been losing friends and Craig remembered the other day. He wondered what would’ve happened had he not chickened out. If he had not given Clyde the detriment of the doubt. If he had reached out to him.

He was too late then but he thought that he was too late ages ago. He had always thought that he was too late, but maybe... Maybe there was a chance that he was never late at all. Maybe that was only a lie that he told himself because he was too much of a fucking pussy to reach out to his ex-best friend and find out what happened. What brought them apart. Maybe he could still have been present the other day. There was literally nothing stopping him from saying _one_ reassuring word then. It would’ve been better than none. None all this time. Maybe he was the only one still securing the distance between the two of them. Clyde did give him a chance the other day. Since he missed out on that, maybe he could try again now. 

He wasted voice on his friends before turning and walking toward the bench. Saying nothing would have had the same negative effect from all of them which only caused him to leave their safe zone quicker. He approached Clyde’s bench cautiously, though. He side-stepped toward him, closing in on the empty seat next to him. Clyde watched his feet sink into the snow once they were within view around his phone screen. He didn’t have to look up to guess who it was. He looked back at the screen when Craig sat down. He wasn’t frowning anymore. Craig was about to steal a glance over his shoulder right when he put his phone away and looked up at him. Again they were silent, this time waiting for the other’s input. Craig figured he should have the first word since _he_ came to him, so he said a simple and friendly, “Hey.” Clyde lifted his brows, echoing the same back at him, except quieter. Silence. Craig took that moment to notice everything in Clyde that he couldn’t from six-foot away. Clyde was probably doing the same because both of them broke eye contact for it.

Craig had long noticed that it was weird when Clyde wasn’t smiling. Now it was just sad above anything else. His resting face used to be a small upturn of his lips, often growing full size into short-duration smiles that popped up on his cheeks, sharpening his speech. Now it was a straight line, lifeless, with dropping eyelids too afraid to look up. Craig wondered the reason behind it. What changed that caused him to change with it. He wondered if it had anything to do with him or if their distance was yet another side-effect. If so, how many others there might’ve been.

Clyde found his eyes again. He was anxiously searching for something in them. Both of his hands were on his lap and he started squeezing them, fiddling with the gloves after finding nothing. Craig wanted him to find whatever it was. He wondered if he even had it in him but he probably didn’t. Clyde frowned. He should say something. There was his second chance to reach out to him, if he ever saw one. He took it this time, carefully placing a hand on Clyde’s shoulder and running it across his back to his opposite one. He shook him a little bit, on purpose, pulling him further under his wing. Clyde hesitated at first but eventually leaned on him. It took him a second but he did get comfortable against his side, even tucked his head underneath his chin. Craig breathed deeply, appreciating the closeness, the warmth of his body and softness of his hair. He buried his nose into his hair but stopped himself short of kissing it. It didn’t feel right. He brushed his cheek on his head instead, squeezing Clyde against his side. Clyde let him, tilting his face up so it fit on the underside of his jaw. Craig thought about kissing his forehead but didn’t.

 After the bell tore them apart, Clyde asked him if he had changed his number. Craig replied negatively, so Clyde nodded and offered him a small smile before leaving. His face was burned on the back of Craig’s retinas for the rest of the day.

* * *

 

One day later, Clyde called him. He had been expecting it but it was still a shock when it actually happened. Something that used to be so trivial was surreal now. Craig answered at the second ring, setting his laptop aside. With eyes fixed on the looping video of a dog wagging its tail he listened to the voice on the other end. “Hey, Craig? It’s Clyde.” He was grinning before even checking himself. It was okay because Clyde would never know. “Hey.”  He was more excited than he should from a call but it wasn’t _just_ a call. It had something metaphysical behind it. There had to be. He knew what he was feeling was real. “Hey, um... Do you... Do you wanna hang out, maybe? I mean, I’d invite you over but I can’t.” Clyde’s voice was small and unsure. He used to favorite this tone a lot when he had a secret to tell. A secret or something embarrassing. Craig wondered if the secret was the reason he couldn’t have him over. “Maybe you can come over instead? I’m at my mom’s house.” There was a brief pause before Clyde spoke, “Your mom’s house?” Right. He didn’t know. Craig quickly gave him the address before promising to explain everything at his arrival. Clyde simply agreed.

At the doorstep, he had enough manners not to ask any uncomfortable questions about the Tucker family drama. Instead, he smiled up at Craig and said, “So you live in the senile part of town now.” Craig let him in, closing the door behind them with a smile of his own. This felt too familiar. “Mom and I are old people at heart.” Clyde snorted ironically at that, shaking his head once while walking further in. “Is that right.” He quickly became busy observing the decor of his surroundings, so Craig stepped past him, leading him around the foyer toward the center of the house. “A few years back I found out that Laura isn’t my real mom.” Clyde immediately gave him a wide-eyed look with both brows raised up, almost lost behind his uneven fringe. Craig began introducing him to the various rooms of the house then, while speaking, to dissolve the tension. He only glossed over the massive disagreement between him and the three adults, with a side of pissed off half-sister for being left out, for Clyde’s sake. He even took the liberty to romanticize most of it so he could sound at least remotely interesting and not entirely depressing. “When my mom came back to town I moved in with her.” He omitted the fact that none of it was authorized by his father because he hardly mattered to him or his mom. His father had his custody but they had eventually reached an agreement that no alimony needed be paid if Craig switched houses as he pleased. As it turned out, he never went back to his father’s. He saw his half-sister at school every other day which was the extent of his interest in that household so there was no reason to.

“Do you like it here? Your house is beautiful, by the way.” They had reached the library, where his mother was usually seated, reading by the window. She thanked Clyde before Craig could. Clyde hadn’t noticed her straight away so his jump was justified, but unfortunately not any less embarrassing to him. “Mom, Clyde. Clyde, mom.” Clyde was quick to recompose himself and greet her accordingly. She just chuckled, greeting him back and not bothering to close her book. She knew they wouldn’t be long. They all shared a moment of silence while Clyde took in how much son looked like mother. All of Craig’s friends went through this brief state of mind after first meeting her. It only became more amusing with time. At last, he glanced back up at Craig, convinced of their relation but now doubting any resemblance with his father in the slightest.

Craig’s bedroom was the last stop. Clyde was more than unimpressed but still looked around the place that was generally a copy of Craig’s old room, the one Clyde knew in person. The one where they spent countless hours playing games and having sleep overs. Craig dropped his jacket on the desk chair and kicked his shoes off before sitting down on the bed as Clyde distractedly did the same. He ran his fingertips along the edge of the desk while his eyes traveled to every piece of furniture and its detail until they happened upon Stripe’s empty cage by the bedside. He remained frozen in place for a second before slowly moving to sit next to Craig. Craig got the cue and promptly diverted Clyde’s attention to what they should do next, if they should play games or watch a movie or something else. Except it didn’t work. Clyde just shrugged, not interested. His attention was lost elsewhere in the room, probably still back at Stripe’s cage, which Craig absolutely refused to discuss. So instead of giving Clyde an opening to bring it up, he leaned back on his hands and asked him what he wanted to do. He got Clyde’s full attention then. Clyde’s eyes met his for a moment before carefully slipping down his torso. Craig’s eyes widened. Clyde’s face was perfectly blasé, unreadable but obvious. Craig tensed up, slowly shifting in place to sit upright again. He wasn’t so much uncomfortable as he was uncertain. Clyde looked back up at his face, mostly focused on his lips. He licked them out of instinct and Clyde’s eyes shone. He was no longer uncertain.

Clyde’s lips were soft. His fingertips trailed fragile lines across Craig’s cheeks and his palms were warm on his neck. His tongue was sweet, his little sounds were sweeter. His hands felt better under Craig’s shirt, and similarly, his skin was hotter under his clothes, shivering under Craig’s touch. It was something of a surprise when Clyde laid back on the mattress, bringing Craig down with him, but he should’ve seen it coming. This all should’ve been painfully obvious to the outside viewer, but Craig couldn’t help being a dull motherfucker when it came to passes. Clyde kissed him hard, his lips intoxicating. His hands grabbed blindly and his nails sunk violently, but it felt so, so good. His thighs squeezed Craig’s waist until their chests slid together. He breathed and gasped and moaned. Craig kissed his name from Clyde’s lips, Clyde tore skin from Craig’s back, and they melded into each other.

Their hands met afterwards. Clyde was still catching his breath by the time Craig realized that he probably missed dinner. Maybe he could make something for the two of them, then. He briefly wondered if Clyde liked frozen pizza with extra cheese, but Clyde liked literally anything, so whatever he made would be just fine. He had a stronger bias for Mexican but Craig could never bring himself to enjoy their seasoning, so his house was free of that. Clyde would have to accept Italian.

The trip to the kitchen in matching pairs of Craig’s shorts was a dead giveaway to his mom, who was preparing some tea for bed. She was eloquent enough not to glance them down while leaving for her room, wishing them a good night on her way out. She told them about the leftover chicken from the top of the stairs, which Craig promptly added to the pizza after defrosting it. Clyde complimented him on the makeshift dinner before they went to bed.

Craig only heard Clyde’s voice again late into the following night. This time, Clyde did invite him over. Craig didn’t question it, he just climbed into Clyde’s room through the window like requested. It felt more familiar than weird because he used to do that all the time. Clyde’s room looked the same as he remembered, maybe a bit messier. He couldn’t say the same about the rest of the house because he didn’t see it. They didn’t need it.

This time around, Clyde was quieter. Craig drank most of his voice so it wouldn’t leak out the room. Clyde hugged his back rather than thrashed it. Craig loved him rather than fucked him. The kisses lasted longer and each touch was sweeter than the last. Craig almost believed them to be in love. Clyde kissed him like they were. The perfect harmony of their bodies was second nature at some point, accustomed to each other’s rhythm. Absently adapting to the new touch and response. They trembled and quivered together. Craig held him as if he would fall apart. Clyde nearly did.

Craig couldn’t stay. Clyde snatched his hand and gave him a deep, meaningful frown. Craig mirrored his face and explained that his mother needed the car in the morning. They fell silent for a moment, holding eye contact. Clyde definitely wouldn’t let go so Craig kissed the back of his hand and wrist until he did. Clyde turned his face aside, saying nothing. Craig apologized during the whole time it took him to get dressed and jump back out the window.

* * *

 

One day, Clyde stopped by but Craig missed him. He had been out with the boys until nearly past curfew. His mother gave him a look from the living room when he arrived but he simply lifted both palms up in reply. She told him about Clyde’s brief stop as an afterthought when he was halfway up the stairs. He bolted back down and rushed over to her, asking her for details. She said that Clyde had stopped by late in the afternoon, while Craig was out. He was wearing the school jersey and had his backpack with him like the time before, so she figured he hadn’t been home yet. Craig was about to tell her that Clyde wears the SP Cows jersey regularly but the backpack made him reconsider. Clyde never went home the day he slept over. Craig lifted both brows at her, not satisfied. She closed her book, leaving a finger between the pages to save her progress. So Clyde had only stopped by asking for him. She was sure that Craig wasn’t home yet but still she let Clyde in to look for him himself, since he seemed so crushed by it. He just wondered a bit around the foyer, aimlessly viewing the items in display on the walls and above the mantel, before carefully beginning to climb the stairs. She observed him from the kitchen. His hands barely touched the railing, afraid to disturb the still atmosphere of the house. He went straight to Craig’s room and stayed there for a couple of minutes. Enough time to finish boiling water and pouring a mug full. When he came back down, he thanked her for the hospitality. She offered him tea but he refused, saying that he should be going. She flipped her book open and told Craig to call him. Craig ran up the stairs.

He gave up after three calls were forwarded to voicemail, but it allowed him to really stop and think about this. Sure, it was past curfew and there were classes the next morning but Clyde couldn’t possibly be asleep already. A small fraction of Craig was worried, but mostly he was intrigued. Did Clyde do something in his room? Everything looked the same. Maybe Clyde wasn’t looking for him, maybe he was looking for something instead. Craig stepped outside his room and walked back in trying to incorporate Clyde’s mindset at the time. If Clyde was looking for him, it would take him less than a second to notice that he wasn’t in the room, but his mom said that Clyde still stayed for a while longer. Craig looked around, trying to see the objects in his room as Clyde would. He glanced at Stripe’s cage, still in the corner by the bed. The bed was undone like he had left it in the morning. The wardrobe was vomiting clothes and nothing was out of the ordinary. He sat down at his desk, resting his chin in a hand, frowning. Another call sent straight to voicemail until he decided to text him instead.

were you looking for me? call me

Clyde never called him but he replied three days later. Craig had seen him at school from a distance during this time and Clyde looked stern as usual so he figured that he didn’t need a reply. Clyde was fine. If it was important, Clyde would have stopped by again or called him by then, so he let the text slide and stopped expecting a reply. He was more than surprised when it came, he was confused.

do u want ur clothes back

He didn’t know if that meant more than it did but still he replied near-instantly. It was pretty hard to catch Clyde online so he had to hold on to this moment while it lasted, actively behind the screen. Clyde viewed everything pronto but never replied anymore. Craig wasn’t going to waste this chance.

no you can keep them

was that why you came over the other day?

Clyde didn’t reply. Craig saw him the next day at school wearing his black shirt under the football jersey and wondered if he was wearing the boxers, too. The lost clothes didn’t feel like a loss, they felt like an investment. Out of an entire wardrobe, Clyde chose his shirt for some reason. If they talked at school, Craig would definitely approach him with a compliment on his outfit just to see what he had to say about it. Probably nothing.

* * *

 

One day, Clyde met him at a party. He and the guys had been planning to crash the house with some explosives but they had taken too long and by the time they arrived, the place was below half-attendance. People were staggering outside the front door in drunken waves and whoever remained had already lost consciousness. Chaos by explosion required alert senses, which was exactly what their audience no longer had. Kenny refused to let disappointment settle and convinced himself that the trip uphill would not be in vain. He would steal some alcohol if he had to but he was not going to leave empty-handed. His hopeful speech sort of dragged everyone else into it, so they circled the house and approached the backdoor for forced entry. Which ended up not being necessary, because Clyde opened it for them from inside, seemingly on cue. Kenny held the door as Clyde carelessly stumbled away, as though his brain had not registered any of them. Craig shared an inquisitive glance with the boys, but they didn’t pay Clyde any mind and shrugged before walking into the house, leaving Craig to follow his friend across the backyard. Ex-friend? He didn’t even know.

Clyde stopped for a moment and just leaned a hand and his forehead on the cold brick wall next to him, uncaring for the knee-high snow that was soaking his pants. Craig approached him slowly, speaking his name to get his attention but getting nothing instead. So he side-stepped next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Clyde moved to rest the side of his head on the wall, able to look up at Craig from that angle and still have support to stay on his feet. He looked tired and sleepy with bloodshot eyes. Craig asked him if he was okay and he replied positively. He was doing just great, in fact. Really fucking great. Craig frowned. Clyde ran the back of his knuckles up Craig’s shirtfront, asking him if he had X. Craig said nothing but his frown deepened.

The backdoor was kicked open as the guys rushed outside with a six-pack each. Kenny hurried Craig to follow but got Clyde’s attention instead. Clyde quickly jogged over to him, stumbling and all, but successfully stopping him with a hand on his upper arm. Kenny was visibly distressed and everyone else was wide-eyed but Clyde read none of it. The atmosphere was lost on him as he redirected his last question to Kenny. Everybody shared unbelievable frowns behind his back. Kenny tried to shrug him off with a sturdy no but Clyde wasn’t leaving. He knew that Kenny didn’t walk around flat-out dry, so he pressed him until he was in too much of a rush to decline any further. Kenny offered LSD as an alternative, which Clyde took in consideration for a moment before accepting with a cocky little thank you.

Back inside Token’s car while everyone stuffed the smuggled beers underneath seats, Craig questioned Kenny about the drugs. He thought that that phase was over. Kenny confirmed him on that and said that what he had now was strictly for recreational use. Cartman was his eyewitness every other night if Craig still doubted him. Craig wrinkled his nose but chose to take his word for it solely to end the discussion.

Rolling down the street, they came across Clyde making his way home with slow and focused steps. His shoulders were raised and his hands were in his jersey’s pockets but he wasn’t taking his time because of the cold. Token’s first reaction was to speed up but Kenny told him to slow down and keep pace with Clyde. Craig thought that whatever Kenny had in mind was a phenomenally bad idea but said nothing, just observed. He was glad that he had permanent shotgun in Token’s car because when Kenny rolled down the window, everyone was visible through it except for him. Clyde didn’t notice them until Kenny shouted his name, making him turn around. His pupils were huge but he wasn’t alarmed or surprised. If anything, he was out of it, nearly gazing through the car. Kenny offered him a ride home with a grin on his lips. Clyde scowled, turning his face forward and overall ignoring him. Kenny urged him to hop in but his words might as well have never been because Clyde resumed their unilateral nonexistence on his end and kept on walking. It became cold inside the car. Kenny turned to Token and told him to keep following Clyde just to make sure that he got home okay. Token obeyed.


	2. Chapter 2

On prom day, Clyde didn’t show up. He was supposed to be homecoming royalty along with Bebe. The actual plans weren’t made because they needn’t be made. They had already been made, ages ago. It was a tradition. Every year, the star quarterback of the senior year was paired up with the head cheerleader of the same year and they were both elected winners. He knew this. He had told everyone the week before that he was going. He had skipped school the day before prom but it wasn’t a big deal. It just took a while until everyone realized that he wasn’t coming. Bebe passed out. She came back to in time to win homecoming queen and Stan filled in for king as a distinguished quarterback. But he wasn’t the star and the night was partially ruined because everyone just felt weird. Something was off and that was strongly felt by all the seniors. Craig’s blood pressure dropped but for a different reason than Bebe’s. He was scared. Worried. For some reason, he feared the worst. His fleeing instincts kicked in while the coronation was still taking place and he was forced to beg Token for the car keys in front of Nichole. He’d be embarrassed for it if he wasn’t already brimming with dread. Token trusted him with the car until the end of the ball, not a minute longer.

He thought that he’d get voicemail all the way to Clyde’s place but Clyde answered in the first ring of the first call. That fact alone made Craig stop dead in the middle of the parking lot with keys firmly in hand and a racing heart. Clyde almost sounded like he had forgotten what this day meant for the entire school and posterity and how much his absence was being currently felt. “Clyde, you’re missing prom.” Craig deadpanned. He was suddenly less worried and more confused. All of his senses had been telling him something terrible had happened to Clyde but now he was just lost. The possibility that Clyde just straight-up fucking ditched prom could _not_ be real. It did not exist in the material world. That was something that not even old Clyde would be capable of.

“Yeah.”

The reply came in a heartbeat, as a fact of matter, plain and simple. Craig’s hand dropped to his side as he frowned in bewilderment. They were both in silence for the second it took Craig to find his syntactical knowledge and lace it with motor function into one word, “Why?” That was the best of his cognitive ability at the moment but it seemed to be enough for Clyde. “I guess I changed my mind.” It didn’t make sense. Clyde had been hyped about it for the whole month and even had made after party plans with the cheerleaders and the football team. He just sounded distracted now, uninterested. Something had happened. “Hey, did you know Nutella cookies exist? Because I didn’t.” Craig had been in silent confusion for a second there, accidently giving Clyde an opening to keep on talking and, surely enough, change the topic. He wasn’t going to let him out of it, though. “Yeah, they’re delicious. What made you change your mind?” He could feel Clyde shrugging on the other end. “Circumstance.” He sounded bored. “Circumstance.” Craig echoed back, trying to wrap his head around it.

Nothing made sense. There was a piece missing somewhere and he couldn’t fucking find it. It was all scattered around, disconnected. “Where are you?” At this point, he just wanted to see Clyde in person. He needed physical proof that Clyde was really okay. “In comfortable ignorance. Are those cookies chewy?” The answers were downright metaphysical now. Craig resumed the walk to Token’s car, sighing. He could finally admit to himself that he didn’t understand Clyde anymore. “Pretty much. Kind of like, a messier version of the Subway ones.” Clyde seemed to ponder this new information. Craig took advantage of the silence to turn the tables in his favor, but first he needed Clyde’s full attention. “Hey, can I ask you something?” He also needed to know if he could come over. A while ago, Clyde did tell him that he couldn’t invite him over for an unknown reason. Maybe he could find that out now.

“Only if I can’t answer you.”

Craig lifted a brow at that. He wondered if it held any meaning or if Clyde was just being cryptic for fun. “Is that a no?” It almost felt like they were playing a game.

“It’s a fucking statement.”

Craig promptly decided to stop playing the game. “Can I come over?” He hopped inside the car. He was going regardless.

“That’s the wrong question.”

He was unable to identify Clyde’s mood through his voice now. He just sounded disappointed, but Craig really didn’t care. “I’m coming over.”

“The front door is unlocked.”

Indeed, it was. Craig stepped inside Clyde’s house extra carefully, afraid that he might run into his parents. Well, his dad. But there was nobody home. He shouted Clyde’s name from the living room, closing the door behind him. Clyde replied from his bedroom, upstairs. Craig took a second to look around before starting for the stairs. The furniture set had changed but their positions had remained mostly the same as he remembered. The walls were green now, though, for whatever reason, which was a little weird.

Clyde was in bed, laying on his stomach, wrapped in a comforter with his laptop on in front of himself. He glanced up at Craig when he walked in, lingering in the doorway for a moment, kind of waiting to be invited in. “Hey.” Clyde smiled in reply, glancing him down appraisingly. “You look great.” Craig did the same and looked himself down, then scoffed at the awful suit that he had rented. Going full British to homecoming was a more successful joke within the school’s vicinity. The plaid vest was nice, though. He’d probably wear it without the suit and the irony. “Thanks.” He removed the jacket and kicked the brogues off before taking a seat on the edge of Clyde’s bed. Clyde shifted around, making room for him, then lifted the edge of the comforter a bit, inviting him in with a hand. “C’mere, welcome to my little utopia.” Craig couldn’t stop the genuine smile that cut across his face and the incredible sense of accomplishment that came over him with those words. It finally felt like the two of them were bonding again. Clyde had let him in and he couldn’t be more glad to join him underneath that comforter.

“I’ve been food blogging for the past three hours.”

Craig laughed, not doubting him at all. It kind of explained the cookie talk earlier but everything else remained in a nebula of confusion. He guessed this was a good a time as any, if not better, to get some explanation. “Hey, so why didn’t you go to prom, anyway? I thought you were super pumped about...” Clyde covered his mouth with a couple of fingers, quietly shushing him, with eyes still glued on the computer screen. “We don’t talk about reality in my utopia. Behave.” Clyde dropped his hand to the keyboard, scrolling down the page to view more ice cream and cake. Craig nodded absently, watching his face rather than the food on screen. “So what do we talk about, then?” Clyde leaned his head on Craig’s shoulder as he talked, lethargically flicking through pictures, as if he wasn’t paying attention at all. Craig almost didn’t expect a reply.

“We talk about what’s _in_ the utopia, like you and me.”

Craig’s heart skipped a beat. Oh. They both stayed in silence for a while, mostly because Craig didn’t know how to respond to that and Clyde was busy switching from ice cream to french-fries. He didn’t know how to approach the topic of both of them as a unified entity so he should probably start small. Start with Clyde. “Alright, well. How’ve you been?” Clyde’s face didn’t change in the slightest but his tone did. It was dull now, positively joyless. “Amazing.” Craig frowned, tilting his head aside to have a better angle of his face. “Yeah, you look fucking amazing.”

Clyde rolled his eyes, turning his head to fully face him. “Don’t you get it? Utopia. Everything is fucking amazing right now.”

They were both frowning now. Craig really didn’t get it the way Clyde did. “But it’s not.” Clyde scoffed, looking back at the screen. “You’re ruining it.” Craig peeled the comforter off of himself at that, getting up from the bed. “This is pointless. It doesn’t add anything to anything.” He crossed both arms over his chest, leaning against the desk by the bed and watching Clyde from above. Clyde groaned, pulling the comforter tighter around himself. “Exactly. Doesn’t this chocolate cake look delicious.” Craig shook his head, indignant. “Fine, let’s talk about us, then. What about it?” Clyde’s eyes widened but he trained them on the screen. He took a second to reply and his voice was quiet, almost faithless. “There’s you and there’s me. I never said _us_.” He sounded like he wanted to take back the words as he said them. Craig softened. “But I did.” Clyde set his jaw and frowned, unblinking. He didn’t need to; his eyes were already glossy enough. He swallowed. “What about it?”

Mr Donovan’s voice echoed from downstairs before Craig could think of a reply. There was a feminine voice accompanying his, too, that Craig didn’t recognize. They were both caught by surprise, Craig more so because he wasn’t sure that he could even be here when adults were around. He shot Clyde a quick glance, unsure of how to react. Clyde was straight up crying by now, wiping his tears with balled-up hands in comforter. “Close the door, you _idiot_.” He sounded surprisingly clear and demanding for someone with a throat brimming with sobs, Craig noticed while complying. He stayed by the door afterwards, listening through it, just in case. He didn’t know that Clyde’s dad was dating someone.

“I should probably go.” The voices sounded closer and it was making him panic. He dashed toward the bed and sat down, ready to slip his shoes on when Clyde jerked him around by the shoulder. “If you leave again, I’m _never_ talking to you.” He shouted, angry and hurt, with a red face full of tears on his cheeks. Craig was paralyzed. “You already don’t.” The words left his lips unregistered. If he had thought them through, he would never have said them. Clyde’s face fell further. He was a broken heart personified and the stab in Craig’s chest was the equivalent of his own heart deflating from blood loss. “I’m...” His throat closed. Clyde let go of his shoulder and dropped his gaze, blinking a couple of tears away. “You’re right.” His voice was small and pitiful, the opposite of the voices in the hallway, loud and intimidating. Craig didn’t know what to do. He glanced from Clyde to the door and back, breathing heavily, worried. All of his instincts told him to run for it but Clyde’s state kept him in place. Clyde noticed his impasse and smiled sadly. “Don’t worry, they never come in.” Craig exhaled as his heart was finally ripped out of his chest.

The voices outside passed by the door and disappeared at the end of the hallway.

Craig moved to straddle the mattress, reaching both hands to cup Clyde’s cheeks and pull him forward into a kiss. Clyde threw both arms around his shoulders as an immediate response, bringing him closer. Kisses multiplied and spread all over their faces; hands caressed skin and disheveled hair. Craig’s body covered Clyde’s, shielding him from the outside. Clyde didn’t spread his legs and Craig didn’t mind that. They kissed until Craig remembered Token’s car.

“Fuck.”

Clyde kissed him extra sweetly, attempting to fix something broken. Craig kissed him extra softly in appreciation before breaking apart for one second. “I need to give Token’s car back before the night ends.” Clyde gave him a quizzical look while catching his breath. Craig felt like an asshole. “Do you want to come with me?” Suddenly, he felt like less of an asshole. A smile faltered on Clyde’s face at the question and Craig didn’t feel like an asshole at all. “Oh... Kay?” Clyde punctuated the last bit with a raised brow and Craig’s chest swelled. He grinned.

Neither Token nor Nichole mentioned Clyde’s presence or his pajama pants when Craig handed them the keys in the parking lot outside of the school. What they did question was Clyde’s absence at the ball. Did he know that Stan had to dance with Bebe? That was the drama of the week guaranteed. Clyde covered his mouth with a hand, feigning disbelief. “No way! I forgot that prom was tonight.” Neither of them believed him but they let it slide. Kenny and Tweek showed up in the parking lot a minute later and they all hopped into the backseat, a little squished together and partially on each other’s laps. Of course Nichole got shotgun with Token. Tweek was entirely on Kenny’s lap by the time they dropped him off. Kenny was next.

It was only Craig and Clyde in the back when Craig invited him to sleep over. Nichole shared a knowing glance with Token. Clyde accepted while shooting them a look through the rear-view mirror. Craig smiled.

His mom was fast asleep by the time they arrived home. She was a heavy sleeper, but still they tip-toed all the way up to his room, just in case. Safely inside and with the door closed, Craig started shedding clothes by the bottom of his bed, bothered by the unspoken formality of them. He kind of wished that he could’ve kept the vest, though. Clyde climbed into bed and watched him from the other end, leaning his back on the headboard. Craig pretended not to care. “Hey, so who was your date?” Clyde sounded malicious. Craig smiled to himself while his back was turned. “Tweek, Kenny and I went as foreign bachelors. Our plan was to just stand around the food table with inaccurate accents and treat everyone as exotic animals.”

Clyde was smiling when he turned back around. “You could’ve organized a date triangle, yeah? You take Tweek, Tweek takes Kenny and Kenny takes you. I’ll remind you of that in four years, don’t worry.” Craig snorted out a laugh, putting some pants on before joining Clyde in bed. “I’ll take _you_ in four years.” He shimmied under the blankets, getting comfortable while Clyde slowly did the same, visibly thrown off by that reply. He lifted his brows at Clyde’s face, watching him tuck himself in. “I mean, you’re going to college, right?” Clyde looked at him and for a moment, his eyes shone. “Yeah.” He grinned. “Actually, fun story... Boulder accepted me just yesterday.” There was a glint of joy in his face that dissipated quickly afterwards, morphing itself into dullness. As if something was keeping him from being hyped about it.

Craig wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be excited or not; his emotions took a leap of faith from high exhilaration to deep sympathy in the timespan of Clyde’s mood change, meaning half a second. “That’s awesome.” He meant what he said but his voice betrayed him. It was overflowing with concern, also showed on his face. Clyde noticed. “Are _you_ going to college?” He switched the attention axis to Craig but Craig didn’t mind. What bothered him was Clyde’s faux cheerful tone. “That’s the intention.” Clyde snorted, smiling sincerely. “What are you taking, arts and crafts?” He outright laughed while Craig feigned a glare. “Just you wait until next Valentine’s day; those paper hearts will be worth millions.” Clyde covered his grin with a hand, smiling through his eyes. “Right.” He shook his head, softening his voice into something more heartfelt while dropping his hand on the space between them. “Glad to be your date, then.”

In the following morning, Craig woke up with Clyde’s tired voice speaking on the phone. Whoever sat on the other end must have been utterly tiresome because Clyde could barely keep his eyes open and didn’t have the willpower to pretend to be enjoying their conversation in the slightest. In fact, he nearly yawned at one point before hanging up and turning around to face Craig. He didn’t look sorry for waking him up because he wasn’t. He looked sleepy. “Hey, do you want to play utopia again?” He touched Craig’s cheek with a hand, keeping his eyes low. Craig pouted. “I don’t like that game.” Clyde glanced up at him, replying in a heartbeat before hopping out of bed. “Me neither.” He slipped his coat and shoes on while Craig sat up to watch him, frowning.

“Stay.”

Clyde offered him a playful smile from the bottom of the bed, beginning to circle it over to him. “I’d love to!” He kissed him on the cheek and started for the door. “I’ll see you later.” Craig jumped out of bed just in time to catch him by the elbow. “Wait, let me at least drive you home.” Clyde looked back at him for a second before grinning wickedly. “Sure.”

Craig did everything in his power to keep Clyde from leaving. He offered him breakfast, a shower, his clothes and a richly intricate make out session, all of which were accepted posthaste. Still, Clyde persisted. He wasn’t particularly worried about speed, whether he’d be home soon or not, but his decision was resolute and he would be there eventually. He was so steadfast, actually, that Craig started to lose faith in himself and what he had to offer. He was just about to resort to the impossible when his mom accidentally granted him a last chance, inviting the both of them to go book shopping with her. Clyde was ready to decline but she cut him off with a promise for ice cream, which was what won him over.

On the ride to the bookstore, Clyde’s phone rang three times before he outright turned it off.

At the bookstore, the only one who really browsed for books with the intention of reading them was Craig’s mom. She ditched both boys right at the entrance lobby and disappeared upstairs within the first minute. They really didn’t mind. First, because none of those books were very interesting to them. Second, because they readily found the furthest aisle from the door, filled with traveler’s guides and road maps, where their touches and kisses could go unnoticed. Craig half-heartedly hoped that they could stay there until nightfall but he knew that Clyde’s dad would probably call the cops on him before then, so he enjoyed the softness of Clyde’s lips and the delicacy of his hands while he could.

When they stopped kissing, he asked Clyde why he missed prom. Clyde took a step back and ceased all contact with him. He looked off to the side, shrugging dismissively. “It felt like a stupid idea.” Craig remained silent, expecting him to elaborate. Clyde began walking out the aisle instead, so he followed closely, still quiet. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that Clyde wasn’t going to say anything else, so he took the initiative to. “You know, everyone will talk about you until classes are over.” Clyde shrugged again, picking up a random book and feigning interest in it just to avoid eye contact. “I’m used to that.” Craig pondered. The star quarterback would be. “But you’re right, I didn’t think it through. I was stupider than stupid prom was stupid.” He put the book back carelessly, almost knocking it off the shelf. “Well, whatever. I fucked up, I guess, and it’s done. What’s your point?” He swiftly turned around to give Craig an angry glance. Craig backed off a step. “Nothing. None. I was just curious.”

* * *

 

His mom’s surprise at Clyde’s address showed up on her face from the rear-view mirror over to them. “You’re neighbors with the Tuckers, yeah? So you’ve known each other for a while.” She had a playful smile on her face that was reciprocated by a fake one from Clyde. “Yeah.” His voice was quiet and could easily have been overlaid by the radio, had it been on. Craig’s mom nodded, driving them around in a bright mood. Her bookshop bag and leftover ice cream were on the empty passenger seat to emphasize it.

One hour shy of striking midnight, Craig’s phone rang. He was distracted with the bouncing poodles on his laptop screen but still picked up at the first ring. Clyde’s voice made him forget about the poodles instantly. “Hey, let’s go somewhere fun.” Craig’s cognitive reason doubled over. It seemed a little late for Clyde to be out and about on a week night. “Like where?” He was frowning. Clyde’s voice was absent. “I dunno, a club? A... Denver. Let’s go to Denver.” His voice suddenly filled with excitement, which spread over to Craig because that tone reminded him of the cheerful Clyde that he knew. His heart took a leap for his throat but missed by a beat. “Yeah? What would we do there?” Clyde’s reply was in an excited, obvious tone. “Go to a club! Bring your fake ID; we’ll meet at the station, okay?” Craig didn’t reply right away. He had a hunch that something would go wrong, like they always did when Stan and the clan dragged him into their bullshit. This was Clyde, though. Weird shit didn’t happen with Clyde unless it involved the demystification behind Slash’s existence. “Okay?” Clyde’s voice was insistent, fearing disappointment. “Okay.”

Clyde was frowning at his phone upon arriving at the station. He looked up at Craig when they were five feet apart from each other and absolutely beamed. His entire face lit up and Craig immediately wrapped an arm around his shoulders, hugging him tightly against his side. He missed the Clyde that he knew. That was what he had been wanting to do for a long time. That was the response that he was expecting whenever they met. That was the cheeky, happy face that he missed. He squeezed Clyde under his wing and the boy laughed. He _really_ laughed. “What, are you afraid I’ll get lost in this empty place? I can’t breathe!” Craig smiled, keeping Clyde close. “Absolutely. Let’s see how long you can hold your breath in this sea of spectrums.” Even Clyde’s modest laughs echoed back to them. That was until the screeching and rumbling of the bus announced its arrival.

Downtown Denver was buzzing with life and activity at the right spots, which weren’t hard to miss. Both boys knew the city on the back of their hands and could easily travel the streets in the dark, searching for a club to stay, always following the nicely lit portions of town. It didn’t take more than four blocks to find one. Clyde pulled Craig in by the hand and didn’t let go until they were far into the center of the crowd, being squished together by the numerous bodies surrounding them. They followed the waves of movement that reverberated from the people, keeping the entire floor on the same whimsical rhythm of the music. Clyde jumped and raised the roof accordingly and when his arms finally got tired, he draped them around Craig’s shoulders. Craig fastened both of his behind Clyde’s waist and they kissed. They smiled and danced through the kiss to their last drop of energy.

Outside, Clyde decided that he was hungry for breakfast. Denny’s was his best bet and they needn’t walk much to find one, illuminating the street in red and yellow. They quickly noticed that the majority of the customers in there had been at the club at some point earlier in the night. Still, it was surprisingly quiet, especially for a diner, but maybe it was just a misconception on their part because the club had been so loud. They got a booth by the wall and ordered drinks with available refills, aside from Clyde’s massive breakfast.

Once the waitress left and they removed their jackets, Craig noticed a dark bruise on Clyde’s upper arm, just above his elbow. It looked recent. “Hey, I think you hit your arm somewhere, right there.” He nodded at the spot, keeping his eyes on it until Clyde looked down to inspect it himself. “Oh. Yeah, I guess so.” He rubbed a palm on the hurt skin before crossing his arms, offering Craig a small smile. “So, where are we going next?” Craig leaned back on his seat, accidentally kicking Clyde’s Jordan’s under the table across from him. “Home, probably.” Clyde gave him an unimpressed look, kicking his combat boots back on purpose. “I want to at _least_ see the sunrise before we go.” Craig sighed, fishing out his phone to look at the time. A quarter past four. “If we leave after eating you can watch the sunrise from the bus.” Clyde looked absolutely bummed out. “What else do you even wanna do?” Clyde pouted, frowning at the center of the table between them. The food came and went, they paid and left and he didn’t reply.

Two blocks down in silence and Clyde took Craig’s hand, stopping him from walking. “Let’s stay here overnight. Or invite me to sleep over.” He sounded somber, serious. Craig frowned in concern. Clyde hadn’t been to school since Friday, they obviously weren’t going today either, he had ignored every phone call the day before and now he didn’t want to go back home. “Clyde, what’s going on? Why are we here, in Denver, at five in the fucking morning?” Clyde’s cheeks promptly reddened in embarrassment. He squeezed Craig’s hand, looking off to the side, frowning. Craig stepped closer to him, his voice accusing. “Why are you avoiding your dad? Did he do this to you?” He touched Clyde’s upper arm with his free hand but Clyde recoiled, dropping his gaze to the floor. “Invite me over and I’ll explain.”

Craig had waited literal years to hear those words.

His mom was already awake when they arrived. She was dressed and having breakfast in the kitchen and her face was the definition of bewilderment. Her coffee mug was frozen in midair the moment that her eyes fell on both boys. They offered her a sheepish smile and she blinked. “Good morning?” Her tone demanded an explanation from either one of them, mainly Craig. He laced his hands together in prayer while Clyde shifted awkwardly beside him. “Good morning. We didn’t do anything stupid.” The look that she gave him highly doubted that but he sounded sincere enough for her to believe him. In fact, their relationship was translucent sincerity: they respected each other enough to not lie or judge the other. It was the polar opposite of whatever he used to have with his father. His mother knew that he was responsible enough to not get in trouble but it didn’t mean that she had to be perfectly content with everything that he did. Still, she shook her head dismissively, sipping on her coffee. “Do you want me to cover for you, too, when the principal calls me, Clyde?” Clyde was more than just surprised at that, he was speechless for a full minute. “I...” Suddenly, he paled. Both Craig and his mom raised a brow at him. “Could you... Say that you haven’t seen me?” She scowled sternly. “Why would I do that?” Her voice was slow and grave. Clyde trembled. “Please.” She decided not to push him.

Up in Craig’s room, he kissed Clyde once the door was closed. Clyde held him by the hands the whole while until they broke apart. He finally spoke, then. “It’s been really shitty at home since mom died.” His voice was quiet and tired but Craig listened with wide eyes and full attention. “Dad got weird; he didn’t talk to me for a long time. When he finally did, it was to introduce me to his girlfriend, Sarah. She liked picking fights with me. All of that happened a while ago, like a year, but now Sarah thinks that my dad’s cheating on her so it’s never quiet at home anymore.” He sighed, exhausted. He looked exhausted. Craig took his arm, keeping his voice low. “And this?” Clyde looked down at the bruise. “He didn’t hit me, he just grabbed me. He’s never done this before.” Clyde pulled his arm away. The subject was over.

Eyeing Craig’s bed, he undressed and slipped under the covers. Craig followed in tow, holding his tongue until they were both comfortably tucked in. Clyde kissed his cheek before he said it. “Why did you shut us out? We could’ve helped you through all of that, even if just a little.” He tried not to let the indignation show in his voice, but it didn’t really work. Clyde gave him a suspicious look, slitting his eyes. “Don’t bullshit me, Craig. You guys are assholes. I left you by pure choice.” Craig’s heart pumped ice cold blood for a second, offended. “We _changed_.” He was sure that his voice seeped what he felt now but he didn’t care. Clyde should know. “Maybe now you did, but I didn’t need any of you back then. Football was a better friend than you guys ever were.” Clyde shook his head, turning to lie on his back and watch the shadows move on the ceiling. Craig set his jaw. “Give us a second chance.” Clyde sighed, closing his eyes. “I’m giving _you_ a second chance.”


	3. Chapter 3

Craig woke up eight hours later to the sound of the doorbell being viciously rung a thousand times over. He groaned and lingered in bed for a minute longer, wishing and hoping that it’d stop, but it wouldn’t. And it didn’t. One longer ring than the others made him get up with a grimace and march downstairs. Clyde just covered his head with a pillow.

The aforementioned assholes were at the door. Kenny grabbed Craig by the shoulders and shook him while the others let themselves in. “Answer your fucking phone!” He was feigning more frustration than he actually felt for dramatic effect. The other two just rolled their eyes and shook their heads. “Let us know next time you decide to die for two days straight.” Craig pushed Kenny off of himself and shut the door closed. “You saw me yesterday, you fucking idiot. We had dinner at Pizza Hut together.” He led the squad into the kitchen where they all prepared snacks for themselves while he had a glass of chocolate milk. He wondered if Clyde would want an afternoon breakfast or actual dinner later on. Probably both.

“Why the fuck didn’t you go to class, though?” Tweek was exasperated but Kenny cut him off before he could voice it all. “No, okay but I bear _terrible_ news.” Sitting down, everyone rolled their eyes, nonetheless waiting for Kenny to continue. He let the atmosphere build up while downing a glass of juice. “Cartman told me that he thinks his mom is seeing someone.” Everybody blinked in silence for the following second. “Yeah, that’s her job.” Token spoke for them all. Kenny nodded, lifting both palms up. “Okay, yes, but he thinks that she has an actual _boyfriend_ now. The way that he told me sounded like a legit thing, man.” They all suspiciously slitted their eyes at him. “That or she has a regular.” Tweek pointed a finger at Craig, agreeing with him. Token nodded slowly, raising his brows at Kenny, who sighed. “Look, he said the guy called her yesterday in the middle of the day and she went upstairs to take the call all hush-hush about it. Doesn’t that sound suspicious?”

They all pondered this in silence for a moment, until Tweek jerked his head to the side with a shout. “If I was having phone sex with a client I wouldn’t want my kid to hear it, dude.” Craig and Token both snapped a finger and pointed at Tweek in agreement. Kenny propped his elbow on the table and cupped his chin in that hand. “Look, Stan and Kyle had literally the same arguments as you guys. I’m reliving a boring déjà vu.” He nudged Token’s arm with his empty glass, having him refill it for him. “All I’m saying is that Cartman’s going after more proof this afternoon so we’ll know exactly what’s going on later.” The three of them exchanged glances. Token sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Ten bucks it’s just a regular.” Both Craig and Tweek joined in. Kenny glared at them. “You guys are going down.”

Clyde showed up at the door just as they had finished eating. Craig watched the way that everyone looked at him, wide-eyed, as if he was a twenty-feet-tall guinea pig dressed in a bee costume. Clyde waved them hello while pouring himself a tall glass of chocolate milk. Both Kenny and Tweek gave Craig an accusing look, although Token wasn’t too surprised about it. “Clyde, do you think Cartman’s mom has a boyfriend or a regular client? We’re betting thirty bucks on the client.” It was an attempt to draw him into their conversation and maybe even mingle but, most importantly, Craig just wanted to divert the attention from himself. Clyde frowned at him in reply, speaking into his glass. “Who’s even betting on the boyfriend?” Craig pointed at Kenny, who voluntarily raised his hand, looking at Clyde.

Tweek shrieked before interrupting. “You know, your dad was at school today. He was looking for you.” Everyone stared at Tweek incredulously. He took that as his cue to continue. “I overheard him talking to the principal when I skipped P.E. He said you didn’t go home last night.” Clyde paled. They were all looking at him now, expecting an explanation or an input or _something_. He set the glass down, going for a nonchalant shrug which looked a lot like a generalized tremble, gazing off at the kitchen door. “He forgot I was sleeping over here, I guess.” Everyone remained silent, sharing glances. They knew he hadn’t been to school since Friday. “I’ll be right back.” Craig watched him leave the kitchen, paying attention whether he was going further into the house or toward the front door. He went upstairs.

 Kenny cleared his throat awkwardly, in an attempt to cleanse the atmosphere back to normal. “Can’t believe you skipped P.E. again, Tweek.” His voice was low and collected, in mock seriousness. Tweek jerked his head aside, then shook it, grabbing the tablecloth by the edges. Token just sat back in his chair as Craig continued to stare at the kitchen door. He feared Clyde was getting ready to leave. “That’s not the fucking point, man!” Tweek shouted, fidgeting with the edge of the table. Everyone looked at him knowingly, then followed his gaze over to Craig.

“What is _he_ doing here?!” The ultimate question was out in the open. Craig chewed the inside of his cheeks, crossing both arms over the table, feeling a little pressured and unsure of himself. They all gave him a second to think, which was entirely fruitless because he had no answer formed and so Token chimed in to fill the void, inciting him to speak. “Clyde slept over on Saturday after prom, too. Did he just stay the weekend?” Kenny and Tweek looked at each other, scowling in a mixture of confusion and brainstorm that felt awfully close to a breakthrough. They didn’t know that. “Why did you pick him up for prom, anyway? He wasn’t even dressed. He _wasn’t_ going.” Tweek snatched both hands from the table and clasped them over his shirt instead, gripping the fabric for assuagement. Kenny wrinkled his nose. “So what, are you two friends now?”

Craig sighed. They were closing in on him. It was clear that they were going to figure everything out sooner or later by themselves, so he might as well just tell them. It was better that they heard it from him first anyway. Sighing again, he started with what happened yesterday at Denver, then went on to Saturday and, lastly, the day that Clyde met his mom, with some details in-between. They all sat and listened in grim silence with grave faces. “We don’t really talk, we just make out, sort of. His home situation is actual shit, though.” No response. Everyone was petrified, too shocked to talk for quite a while. The first one who reacted accordingly before it got awkward was Tweek, shrieking loudly in paranoia and horror.

“You’re fucking Clyde Donovan?!”

Craig immediately widened his eyes at him, lifting a palm to point at him with. “Don’t fucking shout it, man! He’s upstairs!” He was whispering now, in an attempt to coax Tweek into doing the same. The guy was too far gone to say anything else, though, so the next one who spoke was Kenny, crossing his arms with a scowl. His voice was level, maybe a little somber. “I’d say that was a nice score if it wasn’t our ex-best friend Clyde fucking Donovan.” Craig frowned at him incredulously, raising his voice. Something inside of him flared up quick. “You fuck Cartman; same goddamn thing.” Kenny shook his head, leaning forward over the table. Craig was unconsciously fuming. “We never stopped being best friends, we just upgraded our friendship. Plus, I fuck everyone indiscriminately. But Clyde left us. He didn’t get back in touch with us, he got back in touch with _you_.” He sounded hurt. Craig looked around the table and they all looked hurt. He realized that the problem wasn’t him and Clyde, it was the nonexistence of Clyde and _them_.

Whatever had flared up inside of him had died down now.

“I asked him about that last night, actually.” Craig watched them. Kenny was shaking his head in disappointment and Tweek had his gaze cast down but they were all nonetheless listening to him. He pressed on. “Maybe instead of blaming Clyde we could give him a second chance.” At that, they all stared at him. Token raised a brow. “Why?” Kenny resumed scowling. “ _He_ left _us_.” Tweek groaned but didn’t add to it, just nodded. Craig remained calm. “We pressured him into doing that.” Tweek accidentally hit the back of his hand on the table, making a loud noise. Everyone hissed for him but he just shrieked. “Sure, we bullied each other but I didn’t leave you guys just because you set fire to my underwear once.” He shot a hand to his hair, gripping it. Craig sat back. “That can be overwhelming to people who have other shit to deal with. You out of everybody should know how stress works, Tweek.” Tweek was silent. Kenny sighed. “What do you want us to do, give him a hug and call him bro as if nothing happened?” Craig thought about punching Kenny in the nose for the recurring attitude but his idea wasn’t too bad. He considered it for a second before speaking. “We could just invite him to hang out with us and start from there. Be more supportive, I guess.”

It took everyone a moment  to come around and agree on a place to go. Once it was all settled, Craig went fetch Clyde and a shower upstairs. Clyde was rolled up in a blanket cocoon in bed with Craig’s laptop in front of him, which instantly destructed the idea that he might have escaped through the window while everyone shouted his full name downstairs. He watched Craig walk in and undress with subtlety of little to none. Craig didn’t mind; he used that to call Clyde on it and coax him into joining him in the shower. Clyde went along easily.

As they got dressed afterwards, Craig informed him that he was going to Domino’s Pizza with the guys. Clyde opened his mouth to protest but Craig cut him off repeating the previous statement with emphasis on the verb catena. Clyde shut up, then, and got dressed with his head down.

Outside, treading over to Token’s car, the atmosphere was a little tense and heavy but nobody dared comment on Clyde’s home situation again. They let it slide and ignored it for now, while Clyde himself didn’t want to talk about it. He knew that the awkwardness was on him, though, and to break the ice he made a nice remark about the car, which Token took gladly. Kenny was about to make fun of his choice of words when Craig opened the backseat door and hopped in, for the first time in his life resigning from his shotgun seat. Clyde followed him inside, failing to notice the way that Kenny and Tweek seemed a little lost in how to proceed or react to that. They shared a brief and confused glance before splitting up and taking the remaining seats, still feeling weird. Clyde wasn’t sure what was happening outside but his attention was diverted from it when Craig slipped an arm above the backrest around him.

With pizza came a better and pleasanter atmosphere that actually enabled everyone to chat and manage having some fun together. They filled Craig and Clyde in with the news of the day, mostly prom gossip and speculation about Mrs Cartman’s supposed boyfriend. Kenny truly wanted to believe Eric but the opposing arguments were too real for a convincing comeback, even taking in consideration the text that he got from him later on. Cartman had gathered evidence composed of a chat window of his mom and a contact named HIM in capital letters, where they discussed a meet-up and love confessions. “I miss you. Can’t wait to see you tonight. I love you. Don’t be late, winking emoji. I love you too. Then, two and a half hours later, I already miss you. Hold on tight, sweetie, and sleep well. Remember that I love you. I love you too. Dream about us. God, this is so sappy. You guys still think it’s a regular? ‘Cause it sounds dead ass to me.” Kenny was mostly trying to convince himself. Everyone else gave him blank stares and, at most, near-gagging expressions. He sighed, typing “they’re in total fucking love, holy shit” in reply to Cartman before putting his phone away.

As their table got up to leave, Clyde held them back for a moment saying that he needed to use the bathroom first. They were to wait for him outside. Fortunately for Craig, the first thing that they met after walking out were two big German Shepherds tied up to a lamppost. They were patiently watching the street while waiting for their owner. Craig’s heart doubled in size and he grinned. “Don’t touch the dog.” Kenny’s words never reached him because he was already patting and grooming both dogs, one with each hand. Their fur was soft and well cared for and they looked at him silently, poking his arm with their noses every so often. “Oh, my God. You’re both dressed up as cops, I can’t believe it. You look great in these little outfits, really. I’m so glad I came across you today. Thank you.” Both dogs began lethargically wagging their tails in unison and Craig’s grin widened. He was absolutely fulfilled.

“Don’t touch the dog.” This time, it wasn’t Kenny’s voice. It also came from behind him, so he turned around but refused to not touch the dogs. As it turned out, the dogs were actual police dogs who worked with an actual policeman. Craig continued to touch the dogs. “These dogs were trained to only allow police officers to interact with them. Are you a trainer?” The officer didn’t look half as pissed as he looked intrigued. Craig let out a breath. “I’m still in school.” The guy raised a brow, rummaging through his pockets for something. He found his phone. “For another week, only. So maybe you know this kid, Clyde Donovan?” His phone had a picture of Clyde on the screen, cropped out of a bigger one of the entire football team during last year’s nationals. He was smiling big, the kind that showed the dimples on his round cheeks. Craig paled. “I guess.” His eyes were fixed on the guy’s phone but he could see his friends quickly darting back inside Domino’s in his peripheral vision. “Everyone knows the football team.” He forced words out and hoped to have sounded convincing. The guy put his phone away, fixing the uniform on himself in total detachment from the case.

Craig frowned, holding the dogs next to his legs. “Why, is he in trouble?” The question was genuine. The officer shook his head in reply, untying the leashes from the lamppost. “No, his dad is just looking for him. He hasn’t been home in a couple of days. Have you seen him?” He watched the dogs lounge around Craig, not inclined to take their respective places at his side. He was _really_ intrigued now, the single cocked brow said everything. Craig let go of the dogs and they paddled lazily between the two of them. “Not since Thursday.” The guy nodded slowly as the dogs took their time and finally decided to stand next to him. “Do you know where he might be hiding?” Craig thought of his bedroom. “No.” Then he thought of Clyde’s bedroom, a territory untouched by his parents. His dad. “Not at all.”

The officer exhaled loudly, patting one of the dogs himself. Craig watched. “Do you have any idea why he might have run away from home?” The answer painted itself clearly in his mind, the accidental death of Clyde’s mom and his dad’s destructive way of coping with it intoxicated that house until it wasn’t fit for the living anymore. He remembered Clyde telling him about the bruise yesterday. “No, we don’t really talk.” The officer feigned solemnity and inhaled deeply once, sighing. The dogs pricked their ears because they knew that they were about to leave. Craig was already relieved. “Well, if you see him, let us know.”

Back inside Domino’s, the four guys were just at the door when Craig opened it. The lot glanced at him, partially surprised and partially terrified. Kenny extended a hand to point at him, saying, “There he is,” with a sigh that showed just how much weight he had lifted off his back just at seeing his face. They did a successful job of keeping Clyde safely inside, away from the cop while Craig bullshitted him. Their faces showed the stress it brought along. Clyde had a brow raised at Craig, though, in suspicion. He was the only one who stayed alone outside, after all. “Where’ve you been? You missed the booty hunt.” It was Craig’s turn to raise a brow, except in amusement. “Outside.” Kenny chimed in quickly afterwards, almost cutting him off. “Tweek lost his wallet so we went look for it.” He then turned to Clyde and added as an afterthought, “Craig saw a couple of dogs outside so he didn’t follow us back in.” That seemed to be acceptable to Clyde but what really convinced him was Craig’s subtle smile at the memory of the dogs, in actual police outfits. “They were wearing clothes.” Craig’s smile fully materialized as he spoke, which got a small smile from Clyde as well.

During the short ride back to Craig’s house, Kenny got a call from his mother. Everyone was ready to start shouting debauched nonsense in his ear when his face suddenly fell and his voice echoed back into the receiver, “Have I seen Clyde Donovan?” The car became silent. Clyde frowned hard, both in confusion and fear, staring blankly at the back of Kenny’s head. The rest shared glances between themselves but didn’t voice their thoughts. “Uh, not really... He hasn’t been to school in a few days.” Kenny shot the backseat a look through the rear-view mirror which was replied with a string of approving nods left and right. He exhaled. “Why?” Clyde swallowed hard as his frown deepened. Craig thought about the bruise on his arm again. “Well, I’m sure he’s okay. Tell his dad not to worry... So he’s calling, like, everyone’s parents?”

Before arriving at Craig’s house, both Tweek and Token got a call from their parents as well, asking after Clyde. They both managed to copy Kenny’s answers and stick to the script. Clyde sulked in his seat on the meanwhile and was the first to leave the car upon arrival. The others were a little less inclined to follow and eventually agreed to just go back home. Clyde thanked them for the ride and they told him to stay safe. Craig watched them drive off with a little bit of worry touching his soul, not just because of the calls but because of the combined force of the parents with the police. Nearly every adult in town was looking for Clyde now, along with their kids. There weren’t a lot of places left where people wouldn’t recognize him and take him back to his father, carrying a badge or not.

As Craig absently followed Clyde inside the house and up the stairs, he considered telling him about the cop and the dogs. Clyde immediately undressed and slipped under the covers when they got to his room, though, which stopped him from saying anything. He was back into his utopia. Looking up at Craig, he motioned for him to join in, which the host was already going to do regardless of invitation.

It was warm and cozy in Clyde’s little world. The bed was wide but they laid right next to each other with no space separating them; their noses touching and their chests close together. They shared soft kisses. Craig brushed Clyde’s hair out of his face with the tip of his fingers and Clyde hid his face in the crook of his neck, leaving a kiss there. Craig shielded him from outside and held him. They slept through dinner.

The alarm went off early in the next morning for class, which Craig fully intended to attend this time. For as much as he’d love to, he couldn’t afford skipping an entire week like Clyde, who held the school’s most perfect attendance record until Friday _and_ already had a football scholarship waiting for him. Craig slammed the alarm off and hopped out of bed but Clyde stopped him before he was one step away from it, seizing him by the arm. “You’re going?” He made sure to both look and sound openly annoyed. Craig took his hand and held it. “Yes.” Clyde sighed and rolled his eyes, frowning at the ceiling but saying nothing in reply. They obviously weren’t on the same page but Clyde didn’t look about to raise his voice and protest so Craig tugged on his arm by the hand he was holding in a small attempt to cheer him up. “At least take a shower if you’re just gonna hang out here. We have an unexplored library that you can check out for, like, seven hours.” Clyde frowned but still left the bed. His only objection was voiced while stopping dead in front of Craig before the bathroom door with, “Can we have lunch together?” Craig kissed him on the lips before replying, “Yes.”

His mother had been expecting them in the kitchen for breakfast. She had a coffee mug in one hand and her phone in the other, leisurely scrolling down the newspaper site. Her eyes lost interest on the news and met their faces the moment they walked in, though, making their hands automatically part. She had been aware of their intimacy since day one and they knew that, they didn’t mind it, but it was still uncomfortable to be touchy around her. Something in the look that she wore firmly pointed to her wanting to have a word with them but Craig tried to ignore it and think about two servings of waffles instead. He was hungry and missing dinner last night was a stupid accident. Her voice quickly froze him on track, saying, “I was waiting for you.” Clyde recognized her tone in an instant and they all knew where she was going with it. They might as well sit down.

“Your father didn’t need to call me to let me know that he’s been looking for you, Clyde.” Craig had his eyes cast down and could see Clyde’s legs bouncing anxiously under the table. Looking up, his face didn’t betray his mood, either. He was frowning. She continued. “If I’m illegally housing an underage boy without his father’s consent, I would like to know the reason behind it.” Clyde swallowed and his shoulders tensed, raised up a little. Her voice softened as she put her phone away. “What’s going on at home, Clyde?” They both knew it was safe talking to her because she wasn’t going to turn him in. She would already have done it if she ever intended to, but that wasn’t the case. What they didn’t know was how she was going to react to it and _that_ scared them. Clyde, mostly. He shot Craig a worried glance but he was hopeless against his mother.

Clyde crossed his legs at the ankles, on the edge of his seat while looking back at her. Exhaling slowly, he told her. She didn’t interrupt him while he talked and even remained silent for a minute after he was done, letting it sink in. Clyde brushed his hair back with a hand and Craig was suddenly reminded of how hungry he was. She spoke again after sipping on her coffee, “We have to see him.” Clyde’s hand fell to his side as his blood pressure dropped. Craig crossed his arms in an attempt to look nonchalant but felt like it failed. “He is your father and I strongly believe that a sincere heart-to-heart never fails to put matters to rest. Plus, I’ll be the witness of that conversation and if you decide to continue to stay over at my house, we will all reach a legal agreement regarding that. I’ve handled one, I can handle another.” She finished her coffee in perfect peace of mind before getting up and setting the mug in the sink. “Call him and make an appointment after five.”

They remained seated still, listening to the jingle of the keys and the click of the front door as she left for work. Clyde hugged himself after it was no longer possible to hear the car tires against the asphalt outside. Craig placed a hand on his upper arm and rubbed it reassuringly, earning a worried glance from him. “How was it with your dad?” His voice was small and afraid. Craig offered him a genuine smile and a pat on the shoulder because he knew there was no way to make it better. A necessary evil. “A little awkward; lots of shouting and Laura crying. She was upset and everybody else was pissed off. It actually took a few days of incessant arguing for us to leave them for good. After that, the closest I’ve been to their house was when I climbed through your window the other day.” His voice was calm, almost soothing, but Clyde didn’t buy it. He groaned under his breath, closing his eyes for a second and Craig ruffled his hair to destress him. It didn’t work but it felt like it was appreciated. “My mom was really the one who put everybody in their place and conducted each of us to speak at a time. She kind of kicked Laura out of the room because, honestly, none of that was her business. She wouldn’t stop crying anyway so that was completely useless. But my point is, if anything goes wrong with your dad, my mom will be there to conduct the orchestra.” That seemed to calm him down considerably. His shoulders relaxed and his frown softened and Craig caressed him on the back for moral support. “You’ll be there, too, right?” He spoke quickly, shooting Craig a concerned look. Craig smiled, “Obviously.”

* * *

 

At school, Kenny spent most of his free time in-between classes chatting Cartman up very intensely, which left the other three of the group on their own for the day. It really wasn’t a big deal, though, because Kenny had been splitting his free time _and_ busy time with the two group of friends for a long time now and they were all used to it at this point. Sure, he had been hanging out more with Craig and the others than Stan’s posse but that was fine by Stan and Kyle, who had their own business to attend to and other friends to spend time with, as well. The only problem was Cartman. Despite being in speaking terms with the entire school, the only people he really talked to was Kenny and Butters, aside from Stan and Kyle, so when three out of four were busy, Kenny was usually not. It didn’t help that Kenny was his favorite, either, so that had given Craig and the guys a few surprise appearances every so often during their usual hang outs. It was also the reason Cartman ended up having lunch at Subway with them today.

He and Kenny spent the entire period talking about their wild chase the day before. Allegedly, Mrs. Cartman got a call from her mysterious boyfriend-client in the middle of the afternoon and was invited over to his house in broad daylight. She used the girls’ day excuse to leave the house, which Eric didn’t buy for a second, and the two boys immediately got together into Kenny’s car to follow hers. Actually, his parent’s busted truck. She drove down the street and around downtown, seemingly aimlessly for a few minutes, before driving back toward home. That really got them thinking, they said. It piqued their curiosity to a thousand. Then, she parked one street down from her own address and continued on foot. That meant the two had to find a place to park, too, unsuspecting and maybe even camouflaged. Except they took too long to find it and by the time they raced up the street, she had vanished. They _still_ were madly frustrated because they had been so close to the truth. Their only solace was the fact that at least now they knew that the guy lived down their own street.

Clyde showed up late but in time to catch most of their tale and the whole discussion that followed it. Each of the guys had a different and unique perspective of the situation and so a large variety of theories bloomed from the table, the best one in Craig’s opinion being Tweek’s conspiracy talk that Mrs. Cartman was fucking all of their parents on the side. Eric nearly smacked his face with the back of his hand but Kenny and Token held him in his seat until Tweek stopped profusely apologizing. The entire table was in a tumult and Clyde was the only one out of it. He had no interest to partake in any of it, actually. He sat and ate wordlessly, very much interested in his own sandwich and not so much in anything else. His silence caught Craig’s attention and got him glancing over his side every so often while he ate and drank. Their eyes met as Clyde finished his Coke and Craig instinctively looked away. Clyde elbowed his arm, asking him if he was going to finish his soda. He was but he let him have it.

Outside, Craig made sure to fall behind everyone as they walked to Token’s car. Clyde stayed in step with him, as expected, and just as they reached the parking lot by the bus stop, Craig cornered him by the wall. Clyde’s eyes widened in an instant and his cheeks flared up. Craig stepped into his personal space, dropping his voice to something akin a whisper saying, “Be careful, okay?” He was concerned and he meant it. The buses weren’t full at this time of day but the chances of Clyde being spotted by the police or any parent were still dangerously high. “...I will.” Clyde matched his tone with Craig’s, except his was a little more worried. Craig kissed him once, softly. It was supposed to be quick but Clyde leaned closer when he started to draw back, prolonging it for another moment. Craig decided to give him a quick one over that before finally leaving to meet up with the others.

* * *

 

The entire afternoon period went by in a blank because all Craig could think of was getting home to see Clyde again. Even the car ride back was spent in excruciating anxiety and he was the second to be dropped off this time. It still felt like far too long. He barely had any time to thank Token upon arriving because his feet were at the doorstep in a second and his hands had opened the front door before he had registered getting home at all. “Clyde?” His voice echoed up the stairs before he had reached them. “Upstairs.” His heart did an Olympic leap in his chest and he felt like it got first place. He raced up the steps, skipping two with each stride, and met Clyde at the top who had dashed out his room at his voice. The force of their bear hug almost sent him rolling back down to the foyer. Clyde peppered his face in kisses and his smile was bigger than the world.

“I just found this video of a singing bird that you’re gonna _love_.” He pulled Craig inside his room by the hand in a hurry and scrambled across the mattress over to the laptop. “It sounds so proud of itself! It’s fucking amazing.” He played the video while Craig removed his jacket and shoes by the edge of the bed. He barely paid the bird any attention because _Clyde_ sounded so proud of himself, so genuinely happy. His smile matched Clyde’s when he looked back at him, ready to hug the screen as if it was the actual bird. Craig wanted to keep him this happy forever. “That’s such a grade A find, Clyde, goddamn.” Craig hopped in bed with him, drawing the covers over both of them. Clyde laughed. “I know! I spent the whole day watching bird videos but this is the best one. I knew you were gonna like it.” He did Craig the favor of adding the video to his favorites before replaying it. His eyes shone at the screen and Craig watched him again.

He thought that maybe this was love.

They spent the entire afternoon watching animal videos together and laughing. During that time, Clyde’s dad didn’t exist. He didn’t have to call him and see him. The entire population of town wasn’t looking for him. Whether he was going to make up with or give up their friends didn’t matter. The high school prom drama wasn’t on the back of his mind. His utopia was absolutely perfect, healthy and reigning, until the very moment that Craig’s mom knocked on his bedroom door. “I will change my shoes and we will be going,” she said from the other side. The laughter died instantly and Clyde’s face was clouded over by dread. Of course he hadn’t called his dad. Craig gave him a sympathetic look but Clyde’s eyes were fixed on the door. “Oh, God.” He covered his mouth with a hand and Craig closed the laptop.

It took him a moment to work up the nerve to make the call. He left his dad on speaker because the illusion that Craig was doing this with him was encouraging enough to get him through it. His dad sounded very, very glad at first, then became angry for a fleeting moment before going right back to being glad and relieved. He wanted to ask Clyde a whole set of questions but Clyde cut him short saying that he’d get to ask everything in a few minutes, when he stepped foot back home. His dad almost fainted on the other end. He said that he wanted to tell Clyde something extremely important aside from apologizing. Clyde agreed solemnly before hanging up.

* * *

 

The whole thing ended up not being a total shit-show, surprisingly.

Mrs. Cartman was there, for some reason, with Eric beside her, looking to be just as confused as everyone else. He seemed surprised to see Clyde there, given the whole running away and hiding from his father for so long thing, but had the decency not to start up anything or get ahead of himself before Mr. Donovan had the chance to explain the whole situation to everyone. He had apparently assembled them at his house, at the same time, surely for a reason. Craig’s mother went ahead and greeted the adults, introducing herself since neither of them knew her yet, having only had contact with Mr. Tucker before, and went right on to apologize for housing Donovan’s child without his knowledge. The man wore a weary look at this, which caused her voice to become stern as she told him Clyde’s own words about his situation at home. Craig’s hand was found and squeezed by his friend, who stood by his side as their parents spoke to each other.

They thought that Mr. Donovan would try to defend himself and find some excuse to explain his behavior, but, surprisingly, he didn’t. He just... Apologized. He apologized for everything: for scaring Clyde out of the house, for blaming Clyde for his wife’s death, for bruising his arm, for bringing strange women over without explanation and causing a ruckus. But most of all, for being a generally shitty father. His wife’s death had been very complicated for him to deal with, and admittedly he should’ve looked for professional help with it, but as time went on, he finally accepted it and learned to move on. Learned to... Love again. And here, he passed a meaningful look to Mrs. Cartman. The room became still. She smiled sweetly and moved to stand by his side, hands held together. Eric’s face paled and he had to lean on the wall to support himself on both feet. Clyde didn’t say a word.

“I finally broke up with Sarah yesterday. Or, actually, she broke up with me, after I told her that I’m in love with someone else.” Mr. Donovan smiled at Mrs. Cartman, squeezing her hand in both of his, then looked pointedly at his son, who quivered beside Craig. “I hope you can give me a second chance to make things right. I know that Liane will help me become a better man, and hopefully a better dad, too. I love you, son. I hope you can forgive me one day.” Then, glancing over at Eric, still glued to the wall, he continued. “And you, too, Eric. I hope to be a good father to both of you.”

Clyde still didn’t go home for a while after that day, still weary of his father and bearing bad memories about living together with him, so Mr. Donovan understood when he said that he’d rather stay with Craig for a while longer, if his mom would let him, which she did, of course. He slept over for a couple of weeks, visiting his father every once in a while during the day to talk to him. They had much to discuss, now, what with Mr. Donovan’s newly announced engagement to Mrs. Cartman and their planning to move in together in a whole new house soon. The four of them got together once a week to discuss dates and neighborhoods and blueprints, even if Eric didn’t like any of it, and Clyde was still unsure about it. In the end, they settled on a date a few months ahead, although Mrs. Cartman spent more time at the Donovan’s than at her own house by now, even sleeping over a few times, and always bringing Eric along with her. Clyde decided not to share his room, and instead stay at Craig’s, while Eric thought the same and stayed at Kenny’s. It took a lot of back and forth but the wedding finally arrived, their new house was built and they all moved in together.

To Clyde, personally, that was a better idea. Living in a big house with more people than just himself and his father felt safer, and he could actually get some sleep at night. His father calmed down with Liane beside him and Eric didn’t turn out to be a problem as big as he was imagining him to be. He just ate a lot, hogged the downstairs TV and was a general loudmouth that annoyed everyone, but at least he gave life to the house, and Clyde could live with that. He’d rather that than a quiet, somber place with only his father and his intrusive thoughts inside. It took some doing, but Clyde finally settled in, and the best part was that he now lived only a few blocks away from Craig’s mother’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


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